英语博客：Oil change at Oil Can Henry's.

　　I got a phone call from my husband the other day, " Hey babe, can you take the car to get the oil changed please? It's overdue¹." As he works forty-five minutes from town, he rarely has time to run those errands back in Wenatchee, so he gets his secretary, me, to do them. No problem. As you probably know, a car's oil has to be changed regularly. How often depends on your car and your driving habits. If you drive a lot, you might have to change the oil every three months or three thousand miles. If you drive very little, it might be a couple of years before you need to have the oil changed. Why does it need to be changed anyway? Apparently², it breaks down over time and stops performing as well. It no longer works well enough at cooling the engine. So, out goes the old, and in goes the new. Oil Can Henry's is a new chain of oil changing stations in town that is making a name for itself. What you notice first of all is its appearance. The building is brightly painted in red and tan, and everything is spotless. The workers are dressed in a smart uniform which matches the building; their shirts are stripey and their hats are paperboy hats. So all together, it looks like a very clean, professional place of business. As soon as I got out of the car, one of the employees handed me a complimentary³ newspaper, and I headed off to the waiting room . I had only been there a few minutes, when one of the gentlemen came in and politely offered me extra service of my car for a very special deal. I actually didn't understand what he was talking about; he used details about engine oil, the air filter, number of miles, and the color of the lubricants, which all sounded like a very foreign language to me. "Shame on you Anna," I thought to myself, " you need to read up on cars and how they work. Females should be just as savvy⁴ about cars as males....." I politely told the man that I would just have a regular oil change, nothing fancy or expensive. Before they finished the service, I walked out to where they were working on my car to take some photos for the podcast. There was a large room right underneath⁵ the car where the man was changing the oil. He was talking back and forth⁶ to another man who was looking at the engine from the top, under the hood⁷. They were exchanging details in a way that reminded me of surgeons talking to eachother during an operation. Car maintenance certainly is a science, and one that I should get to know.
Grammar notes.
Practice of 'might' with related vocabulary: it depends, spotless, to match, lubricant.
1. We might be able to go to the beach tomorrow; it depends on the weather.
2. If you clean your room and make it spotless, I might let you go to the cinema.
3. He might be famous but his inteligences does not match his fame.
4. You should put a quality lubricant in your car to keep it running properly; it might not work with
that brand of lubricant.

1 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 complimentary   

adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的

参考例句：

• She made some highly complimentary remarks about their school.她对他们的学校给予高度的评价。
• The supermarket operates a complimentary shuttle service.这家超市提供免费购物班车。

4 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

5 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。